Earth ChangesS


Cloud Precipitation

At least 10 killed by floods in Nigeria

flood
Eight bodies were recovered and many others feared dead on Tuesday following a downpour in Rafi-Gora village and Gangare Saji in Kontagora Local Government Area of Niger state.

Confirming the number of casualties from the downpour, Director-General of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA), Ibrahim Inga, told newsmen in Minna that seven teenage girls were washed away by the flood in Rafin-Gora market while three children also died in Anguwan Gangare Saji.

Narrating the incident, Inga said the girls were inside a shop in Rafi-Gora market while the three children in Gangare Saji fell inside a pit toilet while attempting to remove a flip flop that fell inside.

Seismograph

6.1 magnitude earthquake hits off the east coast of Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia

earthquake
A 6.1 magnitude earthquake shook off the eastern coast of Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula at 01:40:08 UTC on July 6, 2018 at depth of 79 kilometers.

There has been no reports of damage or injuries.

No tsunami warning was issued.

Sun

UK heatwave: Welsh farmers 'fighting to survive'

Farmers have brought in emergency water tankers
Farmers have brought in emergency water tankers
Farmers in Wales are warning that they could be fighting to survive if the summer's dry weather continues.

Many say the grass they feed their cows effectively stopped growing weeks ago, prompting concerns about the food available to herds in the longer term.

The weeks of scorching weather follow heavy snow storms in late winter.

NFU Cymru has also warned farmers that they have "a duty of care" to animals, as forecasts predict two more weeks of soaring temperatures.

The warm weather reached a record high of 32.6C in Porthmadog in Gwynedd at the end of June and the heatwave has continued this week.

NFU Cymru President John Davies said he had heard farmers were already using their winter supplies of fodder because the lack of rain had stunted grass growth while the "intense" heat was "burning off crops".

Mr Davies said: "We've heard of farmers who are already using their winter supplies of fodder to feed livestock and with fodder already at a premium this could become a real problem later in the year."

The union has now relaunched its free fodder bank service to help members find animal feed or sell any surplus.

Comment: The present UK heatwave has already caused the earliest harvest in 40 years for farmers, with a significantly reduced yield. The heatwave seems to be extending towards the end of July, with the Met Office predicting that "the last third of July, dry, sunny and warm weather will probably dominate across the bulk of UK, especially in the south."


Cloud Precipitation

Hundreds of thousands evacuated in Japan after 'historic' rainfall, 2 dead

Japan floods
© REUTERSA kimono-clad woman taking photos of swollen Kamo River, caused by a heavy rain, from Shijo Bridge in Kyoto, western Japan, on July 5, 2018.

Hundreds of thousands of people across a wide swathe of western and central Japan were evacuated from their homes on Friday (July 6) as torrential rains pounded the nation, flooding rivers, setting off landslides and leaving at least two people dead.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said the rainfall was"historic" and warned more rain was set to batter already saturated parts of the nation through Sunday.

By Friday morning, one part of the main island of Honshu had been hit with twice the total amount of rain for a normal July.

At least two people were killed, one when he was sucked down a drainage pipe and another an elderly woman toppled by a gust of wind. Several more people were missing, including one whose car was swept away as he delivered milk in the early morning hours, NHK national television said.

A middle school boy was missing after he was swept away by flood waters in a ditch, NHK added.

"The situation is extremely dangerous," wrote a Twitter user in Kochi, a city on the smallest main island of Shikoku, where the rain has been especially intense.


Arrow Down

Car drives into sinkhole in southwestern Minnesota

Car falls into sinkhole in MN
© ABC7
A 16-year-old driver in southwestern Minnesota had to climb out his car's back window Tuesday morning after heavy rains washed out the road and he drove into a sinkhole.

The Renville County Sheriff's Office says the sinkhole was formed after a culvert beneath the township road was washed out.

The driver wasn't hurt, thanks to his seat belt and the car's airbag.

Candace Leopold, the driver's grandmother, says the teen was on his way to work at a farm north of Redwood Falls. After falling into the sinkhole, the teen escaped by climbing out of the car's back window, she said.


Cloud Lightning

Four hit by lightning during Fourth of July fireworks events at 2 locations in Illinois

lightning
Four people, including a 4-year-old girl, were struck by lightning in two separate Fourth of July gatherings for fireworks on Wednesday, authorities said.

The young girl and an 18-year-old man were first hit by a bolt of lightning as people gathered to watch a fireworks show at Robertson Field in Sheridan, Illinois, about 65 miles southwest of Chicago. Sheridan's fire chief, Kurt Tirevold, told WLS-TV that both victims were critically injured, with the girl receiving a direct hit and the teen suffering a ground shock.

A physician and two off-duty firefighters performed CPR on the girl before emergency responders arrived. They likely saved the girl's life, Tirevold said.


Witnesses told the station that even at several yards away, they felt the lightning strike, which scattered tree bark throughout the field.

Cloud Lightning

Lightning strike on Lake Mahopac, New York sends 4 to hospital

Lightning lights up the afternoon sky over Mahopac July 4, 2018.
© Frank Becerra Jr./The Journal NewsLightning lights up the afternoon sky over Mahopac July 4, 2018.
A lightning strike on Lake Mahopac sent four boaters to the hospital Wednesday afternoon.

The lightning strike occurred around 3:30 p.m. when a storm suddenly moved over the lake. Two men and two women who were on an approximately 20-foot pleasure boat in the lake did not come to shore as the storm intensified.

The lightning did not directly hit the boat, which did not appear damaged, said Mahopac fire Chief Bill Nikisher. It's more likely that the lightning struck the water near the boat, he said.

"They were out there and they said (the boat) stopped working after they got hit. One of the people said they felt tingling in their legs," said Nikisher.

Seismograph

3rd earthquake in less than 14 days hits Surrey, UK - Same area as April's quakes

surrey quake july 2018
An earthquake has struck in the south east of England - the third in the area in less than two weeks.

The earth moved in the Crawley area but there are also reports across Surrey and Sussex.

Residents have said buildings and the ground were shaking for "just a few seconds" following a "tremor".

James Hammond, of Bewbush, felt the earth rattle and his flat rumble.

He said: "This was around 11.50am, our flat shook. It wasn't major but you can clearly feel the place shake and everything on the tables were as well."

Comment: USGS have noted six quakes above magnitude 2 since the start of the year, and two of them were above M4. For the most part the UK is considered seismically quiet so this is unusual - and evidenced by the reaction of the people quoted in the article - and one wonders whether the recent revelation of the fault line in London has anything to do with it:
  1. M2.9 - 2km ENE of Cranleigh, United Kingdom 2018-07-05 10:53:24 (UTC)10.0 km
  2. M2.4 5km WNW of Langley Green, United Kingdom 2018-06-29 05:54:12 (UTC)5.0 km
  3. M2.6 5km NW of Langley Green, United Kingdom 2018-06-27 12:28:23 (UTC)5.0 km
  4. M4.1 7km NNE of Withernsea, United Kingdom 2018-06-09 22:14:25 (UTC)10.0 km
  5. M2.7 6km NW of Langley Green, United Kingdom 2018-04-01 11:11:01 (UTC)5.0 km
  6. M4.3 5km NE of Clydach, United Kingdom 2018-02-17 14:31:05 (UTC)11.6 km
It also seems that globally seismic, geologic and volcanic activity seems to be on the increase:


Attention

Dead whale found on the Acadian Peninsula, New Brunswick

Tina Casavant Robichaud discovered the carcass while walking the water's edge on Monday night.
© Tina Casavant RobichaudTina Casavant Robichaud discovered the carcass while walking the water's edge on Monday night.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada still trying to identify the species, but say it's not an endangered right whale

A dead whale has washed up on the shores of Petit-Pokemouche Bay on the Acadian Peninsula.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada officials have not identified the species yet, but it is not an endangered North Atlantic right whale, spokesperson Steve Hachey told CBC News.

They believe it "is likely" a minke whale, but decomposition is complicating the identification process, he said. Further analysis is required, he said.

Attention

Dead juvenile humpback whale found on beach in Byron Bay, Australia

National Parks and Wildlife help to remove an 8.8m juvenile humpback whale from Tallow Beach near Tallow Creek in Byron Bay after it washed ashore dead.
© Marc StapelbergNational Parks and Wildlife help to remove an 8.8m juvenile humpback whale from Tallow Beach near Tallow Creek in Byron Bay after it washed ashore dead.
A juvenile humpback whale has been found dead on a beach in northern New South Wales.

The body of the 8.8 metre humpback was discovered early this morning, wallowing in the shallows on Tallow Beach, about two kilometres south of Cape Byron.

Marine animal rescue group ORRCA was alerted shortly before 8am, and National Parks and police arrived on scene.

National Parks and Wildlife Services (NPWS) ranger Keely Markavino said they were in the process of figuring out the best way to remove the carcass and dispose of it elsewhere.

"The main thing to note is that it won't be disposed of at the beach because that poses its own risk, so it will be disposed of in another safe, designated area," she said.